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Jogging for a cause

PLYMOUTH - The PTO at Jefferson Elementary in Plymouth has hit on a good way to tackle two problems with one solution.

Raising money for school programs is always important and PTO's have used many different methods over the years to help their particular school. More and more people are becoming aware of childhood obesity in
the United States and the need for young people to exercise regularly.

At Jefferson they tackled both this week as the PTO sponsored their Jog For Jefferson program.

"Rather than sell something that many people don't need anyway we thought what better way to raise money than to have a walk for the school," said Kelly Filson of the Jefferson PTO who helped organize the
event. "A lot of the money for the catalog items kids sell goes to the catalog company. This way every penny we raise comes straight to the school and it doesn't hurt to get our kids in a little better shape too."

The event has been a huge success for the school. Kids taking pledges for their walk were able to raise $10,500 dollars for Jefferson programs.

"People will support their schools and it's really great because all of that will go straight to the school. People gave $5, $10 knowing they
were really helping out," said Filson. "It has also been good to see lots of parents coming out and walking with their kids, high fiving
and having a good time."

The PTO also gained several sponsors for the event - Oliver Ford, First Source Bank, and Laurie Sutter State Farm - to help with expenses. Other sponsors were Papa John’s, and the Plymouth Parks Department.